CATALAN DRAGONS

[GaryO]

42 minutes ago, snapski said:

The table is what it is at the end. Please don't give us, we must save Catalans if they are relegated. 

Nay Mr Wilkes, I don't think it will happen, but if it does Che Sara Sara

[BBR]

The format is the format. If anyone goes down they can't complain. I can see Catalan and Widnes being related with KR and London taking their place. What would happen if they do go down? Would the board stand by them and try to do a Hull KR? Or would the club risk folding? 

[LeytherRob]

Catalans are suffering from some frankly bizarre recruitment decisions over the last couple of years. I hope they don't go down(as long as it's not at the expense of Leigh) but if they do it'll be unfortunately what they deserve. 

 

[East Coast Tiger]

Relegation will probably be the end of Catalans and the end of France as a potentially strong RL market and competitive RL nation. But most northern fans will be loving it. 

[Mattrhino]

If the RFL let Catalan go down then I'm done with the RFL

As a game we can't afford to lose the 2nd biggest club in the game in terms of turnover, just to give some semi pro underachiveing clubs a go at SL.

We were told that Leigh would shake up the SL and half the town would show up every other week. And all they have done is bought a load of cast offs and they still get sub 5k crowds most of the time.

[Mattrhino]

Catalan gets major sponsorship from local authorities and Bein sports because of their SL status. Relegate them and they might come back up but could quite easily do a Bradford. 

Why risk it!!

[Mattrhino]

No offence to Leigh. They are worthy of thier SL status. 

I'd just rather we had all of Hull KR, Catalan, Leigh and Bradford in SL.

[paulwalker71]

4 minutes ago, Mattrhino said:

No offence to Leigh. They are worthy of thier SL status. 

I'd just rather we had all of Hull KR, Catalan, Leigh and Bradford in SL.

So which two of the current clubs would you relegate?

[Mattrhino]

Just now, paulwalker71 said:

So which two of the current clubs would you relegate?

None. Increase SL 

We don't have the luxury to kill the few fully pro clubs by leaving them in the lower leagues.

[Mattrhino]

Also we have a club in Tolouse who are spending hand over fist desprately trying to get into the SL. Yet we have Halifax playing in a promotion league even though they are not bothered about playing in SL and London who play in a stadium smaller than some amateur RU clubs.

[kiyan]

3 hours ago, Scubby said:

Hull KR had around 7-7.5k season ticket holders in SL a couple of years ago and Catalans have around the same.

Why not forget about the game? Let's just have a computer work out predicted crowds and award league positions on predicted fan numbers?

I always thought that what teams did on the field was the most important thing, but the more I read these forums the more I realise my mistake.

It is not about who is best at rugby, it is all about who has the most fans!

Silly me.

[Scubby]

Just now, kiyan said:

Why not forget about the game? Let's just have a computer work out predicted crowds and award league positions on predicted fan numbers?

I always thought that what teams did on the field was the most important thing, but the more I read these forums the more I realise my mistake.

It is not about who is best at rugby, it is all about who has the most fans!

Silly me.

There was some great rugby in the 2000 RLWC. Unfortunately there was ###### all there to watch it. The game got ridiculed and rightly so. 

[kiyan]

14 minutes ago, Mattrhino said:

Also we have a club in Tolouse who are spending hand over fist desprately trying to get into the SL. Yet we have Halifax playing in a promotion league even though they are not bothered about playing in SL and London who play in a stadium smaller than some amateur RU clubs.

And Leeds ( supposedly the only team in RL to make money)the biggest team in RL who play in a stadium with a smaller crowd than Ulster RU. Not sure what your point is?

[Scubby]

3 minutes ago, kiyan said:

And Leeds ( supposedly the only team in RL to make money)the biggest team in RL who play in a stadium with a smaller crowd than Ulster RU. Not sure what your point is?

Ulster is a whole province not a club.

[kiyan]

2 minutes ago, Scubby said:

There was some great rugby in the 2000 RLWC. Unfortunately there was ###### all there to watch it. The game got ridiculed and rightly so. 

I do get your point, but what is more important? The game or the crowd?

Salford may have low crowds, but are/were playing entertaining rugby.  Should they be relegated because they have low crowds? Cas have been far and away the best team and best team to watch in RL. But their stadium has failed most RFL basic requirements for over 10 years so should they be relegated?

For me, a sport is a sport and should be decided by the team on the pitch, not the number of fans, nor the stadium they play in.

[kiyan]

3 minutes ago, Scubby said:

Ulster is a whole province not a club.

Ulster is a province but within the Pro 12 is a club. Approx 1.8 m population. London has approx 8m, so is that not a club?

Anyway let's not make this go cross code.

My point is why should a teams position be about anything other than their on field performance?

[Scubby]

7 minutes ago, kiyan said:

I do get your point, but what is more important? The game or the crowd?

Salford may have low crowds, but are/were playing entertaining rugby.  Should they be relegated because they have low crowds? Cas have been far and away the best team and best team to watch in RL. But their stadium has failed most RFL basic requirements for over 10 years so should they be relegated?

For me, a sport is a sport and should be decided by the team on the pitch, not the number of fans, nor the stadium they play in.

You could argue the same about the NRL. You have a glut of Sydney clubs getting pitiful attendances and the whole competition is currently getting bailed out by Canberra, Newcastle, NQ Cowboys, Brisbane and Melbourne. Do the NRL stick their head in the sand and watch a near 17k average from a few years ago go to 16k, then 15k and currently 14.5k and just do nothing and let it play out on the field?

SL reached a season average of 10k 5-6 years ago and now it is somewhere around 8.5. If you continue to lose clubs out of the comp like Hull KR (8k+ average), Catalans (9k average), Bradford (8-12k average) and replace them with clubs with limited potential what will happen? How is that going to pan out long term?

[sweaty craiq]

54 minutes ago, Mattrhino said:

If the RFL let Catalan go down then I'm done with the RFL

As a game we can't afford to lose the 2nd biggest club in the game in terms of turnover, just to give some semi pro underachiveing clubs a go at SL.

We were told that Leigh would shake up the SL and half the town would show up every other week. And all they have done is bought a load of cast offs and they still get sub 5k crowds most of the time.

6500 average in the league, can't remember a sub 5k crowd at all? Should we stay up should be getting 7k plus in 2018 with some very good recruitment already announced

[kiyan]

2 minutes ago, Scubby said:

You could argue the same about the NRL. You have a glut of Sydney clubs getting pitiful attendances and the whole competition is currently getting bailed out by Canberra, Newcastle, NQ Cowboys, Brisbane and Melbourne. Do the NRL stick their head in the sand and watch a near 17k average from a few years ago go to 16k, then 15k and currently 14.5k and just do nothing and let it play out on the field?

SL reached a season average of 10k 5-6 years ago and now it is somewhere around 8.5. If you continue to lose clubs out of the comp like Hull KR (8k+ average), Catalans (9k average), Bradford (8-12k average) and replace them with clubs with limited potential what will happen? How is that going to pan out long term?

But if you come up with a system solely designed to keep clubs with the most fans in the top tier (eg Bradford, Hull KR. Etc,) then you no longer have a sports competition. You have a popularity completion were the sport is secondary?

Man City would have been dead and buried years ago.

Surely it has to be about the team on the pitch, playing a sport and the crowd follows  or sometimes doesn't?  Otherwise it is not a sport.

[Lobbygobbler]

8 minutes ago, sweaty craiq said:

6500 average in the league, can't remember a sub 5k crowd at all? Should we stay up should be getting 7k plus in 2018 with some very good recruitment already announced

Think thats the 9th best in SL - better than Wakey, Widnes and Salford.

 

[Scubby]

2 minutes ago, kiyan said:

But if you come up with a system solely designed to keep clubs with the most fans in the top tier (eg Bradford, Hull KR. Etc,) then you no longer have a sports competition. You have a popularity completion were the sport is secondary?

Man City would have been dead and buried years ago.

Surely it has to be about the team on the pitch, playing a sport and the crowd follows  or sometimes doesn't?  Otherwise it is not a sport.

Man City have always been in the top 10-12 supported clubs in the country. Even averaging over 30k in the old 3rd division.

Sport is the competition. The make up of the competition is down to the administrators. Could you imagine Newtown and Logan Brothers coming into the NRL because they got a couple of surprise wins against the Cowboys and Newcastle Knights. That is the car crashes we create in the UK. It is destructive to any kind of growth.

[Scubby]

22 minutes ago, sweaty craiq said:

6500 average in the league, can't remember a sub 5k crowd at all? Should we stay up should be getting 7k plus in 2018 with some very good recruitment already announced

6,300 average (RL Project) in the league (not including the Hull KR S8 which was 5k something). Sub 5k crowds were Wakefield and Hull KR (cup). Still a promising season crowd wise from Leigh and a big bump on 2016. Having one stand closed for the Wigan derby was disappointing to see however. 

[kiyan]

13 minutes ago, Scubby said:

Man City have always been in the top 10-12 supported clubs in the country. Even averaging over 30k in the old 3rd division.

Sport is the competition. The make up of the competition is down to the administrators. Could you imagine Newtown and Logan Brothers coming into the NRL because they got a couple of surprise wins against the Cowboys and Newcastle Knights. That is the car crashes we create in the UK. It is destructive to any kind of growth.

Sort of my point. Salford has always been in the top 10-12 supported RL clubs in the UK. Should it be relegated because it is less supported than others (like Toronto)?

[Scubby]

6 minutes ago, kiyan said:

Sort of my point. Salford has always been in the top 10-12 supported RL clubs in the UK. Should it be relegated because it is less supported than others (like Toronto)?

Now SL should expand when strong teams emerge. We should have expansion places with a set number and heartland places. Some noob in licensing had Catalans and Wakefield vying for the same slot which is nuts. Expansion teams should never be relegated. If heartland clubs want to promote and relegate themselves then that is up to them. 

[ojx]

2 hours ago, kiyan said:

Sort of my point. Salford has always been in the top 10-12 supported RL clubs in the UK. Should it be relegated because it is less supported than others (like Toronto)?

If one of the top 10-12 RL clubs is scraping attendances of 2000-3000 then it is an abject failure. Yes, Toronto offers the game so much more. The foothold onto North America, a successful model to follow. NY and Montreal coming on board.

I'm really interested in why Salford can't get any fans. Is football too strong?